Combination burial casket and vault



1952 P. o. JOHNSON COMBINATION BURIAL CASKET AND VAULT Filed June 8, 1950 I I INVENTOR. R921 OJo/znson B w W a /WM FIG. 4

*UNITEV TAT Patented Nov. 18, 1952 This invention relates to undertaking equipment and is particularly directed to a combined fburialcasket and grave vault. One of the objects of the inventionis to provide a casket or grave vaultwhich will be simple tomanufacture, light iffweight, will be moisture proof, in thatit will prevent the entrance ofwater fromthe exterior, a'n'd-will also prevent the escape of odbrsorother objectionable matter from the enclosure. I""Another object 'is to provide a combination buriar asket and grave vault composed mainly of two 'intr-fitting-pieces neither of which contains any openings otherthan the open top or loottom of'therelativepieces. A .7

Astill further objectof the invention is to pro? vide a device of the-character mentioned in the preceding paragraph having a bottom section with a'* bottom wall and upstanding peripheral side walls and 'a' top section having a top -Wa1l-and depending peripheral side wallsthe latter being off-set so that when the top is disposed on-the bottom section the side walls will extend downwardly on the outer sides of the walls of the base section to form in efiect an air bell which will prevent water, which "might accumulate in the grave, fromrising inside of the top section toa height'sufiicient to flow over the upper edges of the side walls of the bottom section. V i v I t isa further object of'theinvention to provide the walls of the sections mentioned in the preceding paragraph with inter-engaging seats and to locate a mastic composition between such seats toseal the parts and thus preventthe entrance or exit of all fluids or gases into or from the casket. V v v u It is also an object of the invention to provide a casketand vault combined, which will be suitable for formation by die casting methods and to;provi de convenient means for" locking the top and bottom sections of the device together to prevent accidental separation thereof, "yet permitting'jremovalof the top from the bottom section when desired.

Another object ofvthe invention'is to provide a convenient means for securing the lining of the casket {to the bottom section .to facilitate the fabrication of th'device'l Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a combination burial casket or vault formed in accordance with a ciao is. (e1: 23- -6)",

1,1. Jun u .nnu; Clio 54:1 .1

-the present the-parts thereof being shown in assembled relationship; we;

.plFigr 2 is ahvertical transverse sectional view taken through .thelcombinationacasket and vault showninFig. 1.

Fig. 3lis a detailedvertical sectionalview taken through the sidewall of the device orLan enlarged scale. 11;. J1 cw...

Fig. llis an.elevational viewlof the inside ota side. wall .of the .top section of the vaultathis view being. indicated by the linelvfiIvofiFigBr:

. Referring more particularly to the drawings the combination casketandlvault i indicated generaallylby the. numeral 20.,- This device includesta bottom section 2| =and..a topor cover: section =22. The bottom section includesa bottom .wall1'24rand a peripheral side wall 25, which isintegraIzWith the bottom wall and .extendslcompletely around the same, :wall 25 -.projecting.in ranlsupwarddie rection. i l 1 I t i It .is one ofithe-objects of this. inventiohxto provide acombination casket and vault which= will be suitable forimanufacture by die-casting methods, the connection therefore between the-bot: tom and .side wallistrounded. as. at .26 and the bottom and side walls may be suitably reinforced where'necessary by internal ribs 21. It-should be obvious that such ribs could be-located exteriorly aswell,rif desired. t r I L- The bottom section 2 is in -this--instance,.pro-' videdi with a plurality of bossesgor Slugs-28, on the outer sides of .the sidewall 25,; these lugsbeing disposed adjacent theflowe'r portionoifgthe side wall to -prevent the depending walls 30 0f; the top section from; engagement there-with when the to'p and bottom sectionsare assembled. f The -lugs; 2 8 are provided with-openings-3l forreceiving the ends of laterally projecting fingers 3Z pr'ovided ona handlebar 33, one of thesebars being located on each side of the casket. filt should be obvious thatadditional bars could be provided at; the ends of t'hecasket if desired. Theouter ends -of "the fingers 3 2 maybe deformed; or'otherwise, treated as indicated at 34;-to prevent theremov of the P fe m th l s. Winks a pare t th as t m ybee eva ed;a d rensnbi ee br rate: ing the bars and applying a'lifting 'force tlieretof It will be noted that the finger 32 are arranged beneath the lugs and have their ends projecting upwardly through the openings, the portions of the fingers below the lugs extending outwardly so that lifting force applied to the bars will be transmitted through the lugs to the side walls of the casket.

An inspection of Figs. 2 and 3 will disclose the.

3. fact that the upper portion of the side Wall 25 is thickened, as at 35, this thickened portion reinforcing the side Wall at its upper edge and providing a seat 36 for the top section. This thickened portion terminates at its lower end in a downwardly facing shoulder 31, the purpose of which will be hereinafter set forth.

It will also be noted from Fig. 3 that the upper end of the side wall at the thickened portion is provided with inwardly extending prongs, or tines 38, these members being provided with relatively sharp points 40, so that wooden or similar strip 4! may be impaled thereon. In fabricating the casket the wood strip is alined with the upper edge of the side wall and pressed against the same to embed the prongs 38 therein. These prongs will maintain the position of the strip and prevent it from dropping downwardly into the casket. The strip 4| provides a convenient backing to which the casket lining, indicated by the numeral 42, may be secured, this lining being both ce-. mented or glued and tacked in place on the strip. Suitable filling indicated by the numeral 43 may be placed in the casket before the lining is assembled therein.

The top section of the combined casket or vault includes a curved top wall 44 from the edges of which the side walls 30 depend. These side walls are off set to provide a peripheral downwardly facing shoulder 45 at the juncture between the side and top walls. This shoulder constitutes a seat for engagement with the seat 36 provided on the bottom section; a suitable mastic indicated by the numeral 46, is disposed between these seats before the top is applied to the bottom to seal the vault against the passage of fluids or liquids into or out of the same.

To prevent undesired separation of the top and bottom sections the former is provided adjacent the lower edges of the side walls with inwardly projecting bosses 41. These bosses have openings 48 formed therein to receive tongue like projections 50 formed on looking plates 5|. These plates are of a width sufficient to permit the plates to rest on the upper surfaces of the lugs 41, the plates being loosely supported by such lugs and tending to rock inwardly away from the side walls of the top section. When the top section is applied to the bottom section these plates will be engaged by the side walls of the bottom section and moved outwardly until the shoulder 31 passes the upper ends of the plates after which the latter may swing inwardly beneath the shoulder and thus lock the sections against accidental separation. It will be obvious that if it is desired to separate the sections after they are once looked the plates may be engaged by the fingers or suitable tools and swung outwardly away from the shoulders 31 after which the top section may be elevated and removed from the bottom section. While the locking plates have been shown on the side walls, it should be obvious that they may also be applied to the end walls or to the end walls alone depending upon the desires of the manufacturer.

In some instances it is desirable, when a body has been laid out in a burial casket and is exposed for inspection, to use a protective glass sealer or frame with a pane of plate glass to cover the open upper end of the casket. Such a glass sealer is generally quite heavy so to support the same the side walls of the bottom section 2| are provided adjacent their upper ends, with spaced lugs 52 which are integrally formed with the wall. These lugs are of suflicient size and strength to support the glass sealer which will be disposed on the wood strips extending around the upper edges of the side walls 25. These wood strips are formed with recesses to receive the lugs 52 when the strips are being put in place during the fabrication of the casket.

While I have shown and described the invention in one of its simplest forms it should be obvious that many minor changes may be made in the construction and relation of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a burial casket, a body member having upstanding peripheral walls; a plurality of spaced lugs projecting inwardly from the upper portions of said walls; a plurality of sharp pointed prongs projecting inwardly from said walls; and tack receiving strips impaled on said prongs, said strips having recesses for receiving said lugs and being held thereon by said prongs.

2. In a burial casket, a body member having upstanding peripheral walls; a plurality of lugs projecting inwardly from the upper portions of said walls, said lugsbeing spaced longitudinally of said walls; a plurality of sharp pointed prongs projecting inwardly from said walls in spaced relation from said lugs; and tack receiving strips impaled on said prongs, said strips extending longitudinally of said walls and having recesses for receiving said lugs, said prongs retaining said strips on said lugs.

3. In a burial casket, a body member having upstanding peripheral walls; a plurality of lugs projecting in a substantially horizontal direction from said walls, said lugs being spaced longitudinally of said walls; a plurality of sharp pointed prongs projecting substantially parallel with but spaced from said prongs; and a tacking strip impaled on said prongs, said strip having openings for the slidable reception of said lugs.

PERCY O. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 480,427 Gray Aug. 9, 1892 684,769 Drennan Oct. 15, 1901 1,298,688 Freeman Apr. 1, 1919 1,637,471 Clarke Aug. 2, 1927 2,000,466 Howard May 7, 1935 2,205,110 Stone June 18, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 329,163 Great Britain May 15, 1930 

